Tanton Talent

In 1978, yacht designer Yves-Marie Tanton, who's never been accused of surrendering to convention, developed a seemingly unorthodox 43-foot ocean-going performance cruiser. He gave it a rounded-transom stern and a fairly abrupt spoon bow to accommodate as much waterline length as possible. He energized it with a freestanding cat-ketch rig, specifying lightweight carbon-fiber spars to keep the center of gravity low and power ratios high. He stabilized it with a low-aspect fin keel, and provided a large rudder well aft supported by a sturdy skeg. In all, 48 Offshore 43s were built, and they've ended up in oceans and harbors all over the world.

The logical outgrowth of this successful passagemaker was, naturally, a slightly larger version of the same animal. Enter the Tanton 45, a sensible vessel aimed at serious sailors aspiring to long-distance blue water service for whom simplicity, comfort and performance all rank high. In the designer's own words, "The whole idea of this sailboat is to be a real sea boat not a pseudo racer, not a pseudo cruiser, nor a glossy Madison Avenue concoction."

Tanton drew the 45 in 1983. So far, five finished boats have left the yard in Taiwan, where the tooling resides, all built to order on a semi-custom basis for a wide range of clients, the most recent of whom lives in Hong Kong.

Double-Ended Thinking

The boat is distinctive to say the least. Double-enders often are, especially when you add a towering unstayed cat-ketch rig with the mainmast just shy of Station 0 and the mizzen virtually amidship. The stern is volumetric and radiused — not unlike the sterns on Bob Perry's Valiants — and the bow, as noted, is an abrupt spoon, augmented for headsail purposes with a sprit. The mainmast rises about 55 feet above the waterline and the mizzen is almost as high. The sails bent to these spars are full-battened and highly roached, and are controlled by means of wishbone booms (Tanton's preference) or traditional booms. There is room for a handsome 1,054-square-foot mizzen staysail between the spars. Without conventional standing rigging, the decks are clear and easy to negotiate.

The radiused stern and spoon bow are directed specifically at comfort and performance in ocean conditions. Says Tanton, "I like double-enders ... reminiscent of my Colin Archer years when as a little kid I was designing the husky Norwegian pilot boat on every school book and piece of paper I could lay my hands on." The stern is full and powerful, with a lot of volume above the waterline for static buoyancy in following seas. The bow is configured similarly, with sharp sections at the waterline flaring to strong, voluminous deck lines." What you end up with are hull configurations forward and aft designed with substantial above-the-water volume to curb pitching and hobby-horsing, then faired below the waterline to provide a smooth entry and low wetted surface along underwater sections. The combination imparts good performance and good seakeeping all at once.

User-Friendly Foils and Rig

The keel is a longish, low-aspect NACA foil section and the rudder is positioned aft, well protected by a formidable skeg. Ballast is cast iron and encapsulated, which, obviates the need for keel bolts and their associated point-loading. This is considered a plus by many designers, builders and sailors who feel that such a configuration enhances the overall structural integrity of the hull, especially in the context of offshore sailing where repetitive stresses stacked up for days on end are typical. Draft is kept to a modest five feet, possible largely because of the freestanding carbon rig that tips in at virtually a third the weight of the same sailplan with aluminum spars and conventional stays.

"The cat ketch rig is the heart of this boat in terms of stability, performance and ease of handling," Tanton maintains. Stability comes by way of reduced weight aloft, performance by way of a sailplan that sports a powerful Sail Area/Displacement ratio (SA/D) of 22.2, and ease of handling by way of a well behaved main and mizzen and a minimal headsail component. Off the wind, the ability to project canvas is phenomenal. On the wind, the split rig works in tandem with the hull's full ends to balance out effectively and offer enhanced controlled drive.

Wishbone booms are encouraged by the designer because they don't need to be vanged and, in fact, promote better sail shape overall given the natural orientation of the outhaul and the ability of the sail's foot to remain soft and so retain good aerodynamic form. When passagemaking, with long stints off the wind, this makes a lot of sense.

Deck and Interior

Accommodations both abovedeck and below to serious sea duty and comfortable living aboard. The main component topside is the cockpit large, secure and nestled into the deck aft. A convertible table unit in the middle can handle as many as eight to 10 people, with built-in stowage for propane cannisters and a life raft. The coaming extends forward over the cabin-top to receive a dodger.

The main hatch is offset to port, and a dash below reveals a sensible interior suited to life offshore. Immediately at the base of the companionway against the port side is the navigator's niche, right where you want it within earshot and a few steps of the helm. It is flanked by a quarter-berth in the port hipan excellent sea berth then a handy wet locker followed by the galley just forward of that. The owner's double is in the starboard hip connected to a head and stand-up shower as you move forward. The main saloon includes a generous U-shaped settee to port, a large drop-leaf dinette, then built-in armchairs to starboard behind which is tucked a pilot berth another good sea berth. A second head with shower resides on the port side forward, servicing both the main cabin and the double berth that occupies the forepeak.

The interior combines tremendous practicality with dignified warmth. There are cubbies, cabinets and lockers wherever space permits. The offset companionway allows the owner's cabin on the starboard side to flourish. Sea berths lacking in so many modern designs that lean toward condo accommodations are provided. The galley is roomy but secure, a U-shaped affair offering solid protection on both tacks, plus positive interaction with the rest of the main cabin. The engine is located in the middle of the boat and is easily accessed on all sides through convertible galley cabinetry.

Construction

Hull and deck construction specifies end-grain balsa core, Nytex E-glass and isophthalic polyester resins for resistance to osmosis. In the deck, marine plywood is substituted for balsa in the way of any hardware installations. In the hull, balsa core is limited to the topsides from 3 inches below the rub rail to 6 inches above the waterline. Underbody reinforcement in the hull is provided by an Airex-cored structural grid of longitudinal stringers and transverse frames. Tanton's drawings of the 45 are meticulously detailed and fully approved by the American Bureau of Shipping for compliance with the requirements of the 1986 ABS Guide for Building and Classing Offshore Racing Yachts.

Judicious use of core materials is noteworthy because, in the same context as the carbon used for the rig, it allows the builder to keep hull weight down and so optimize the boat's performance. Here's a 45 footer intended for long-range voyaging that tips the designed-displacement scales at a bantam 26,000 pounds. This translates into a Displacement/Length (D/L) ratio of about 174 which, when combined with the SA/D of 22.2, suggests a vessel that can click off the miles impressively.

The Blue Water Mindset

The Tanton 45 represents an interesting oceangoing alternative, thoughtfully focused on issues of performance, amenity, safety and practicality. It is an unconventional vessel, but not a radical one. The solutions it poses to the age-old question of how to make a sea boat as enjoyable to be aboard as it is suited to trade wind passagemaking embrace a valid blend of modern construction technology, forward thinking with regard to rigs and sailplans, and a solid understanding of lines.

The boat is light enough and powerful enough to sail well, and full enough to offer real volume and payload-carrying ability. It is manageable for a shorthanded crew. It emphasizes simplicity, with minimal stress on gear or on structural components. It has a track record validated by its 43-foot predecessor, and an interior scheme that's downright inviting. It is a nicely conceived blue water yacht.

"A modified cat-ketch"

Tanton 45